9 Ways How To Become An Expert Writer – Improve Your Writing Skills!

I wrote last week about if you should write a book and I thought that well, if you consider writing a book, you probably would like to be a good writer.

So here we are, with some things you can do to become an expert writer.

Let’s go! 😉

1. Read

Reading not only opens your mind to different cultures and different notions, but it also helps a ton with getting better at writing. You learn new ways to express yourself and you get ideas about potential articles/stories/books.

Plus, it’s like getting in contact with some of the greatest minds in the world and maybe even, history. There is nothing greater than having someone you admire and listening to their thoughts from their own mouth. Moreover, if they’re alive, you always have the motive to try hard enough to be able to meet them.

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And it’s fun. So what do you wait for? Grab a book and start reading. Here are some book reviews if you don’t know what to read next.

2. Keep A Journal

I have already written about the many benefits of keeping a journal and this is one of them. Keeping a journal helps a LOT with getting better at writing.

You get better at keeping up with the flow of your thoughts, at expressing yourself, at writing a story down in a way that makes sense. And this is harder than it sounds.

I guess that you have been in a situation where you want to explain something to a friend and you don’t know where to begin. Maybe it’s a book, a TV series, something that happened yesterday. But you start at whatever point you think at the moment and then it becomes a mess to explain everything that happened.

And then… no one understands anything you said and you have to start all over.

This can easily happen when you write a story, too. In this case, your readers will have to deal with the confusion and let me tell you: “They won’t like it!”.

Well, writing in a journal on a daily basis helps a lot with this. So if you don’t do it already, I’d suggest starting as soon as possible!

If you don’t have a journal already, here are some suggestions for you, but even a plain notebook works. Just make sure to have it only as a journal and not write anything else in there, like the grocery list, for example. 😛

3. Just Write

This sounds very similar to writing a journal, and you CAN do it in your journal, but I would recommend using a different notebook/journal.

Take a 30-minute break every day and just write whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be excellent, just write… Stories you want to write, potential plot twists, character outlines, topics you want to write about, etc.

Get your phone into silent mode and turn off any distractions (FB, Twitter, your mom, etc.). 😛 If you prefer to write while listening to music or something else, it’s fine, but no distractions.

For the next 30 minutes, it’s just you and your imagination. So write away! 3,2,1… GO!

*Useful inspiration tip: Keep a notepad around to scribble any ideas that come to your mind during the day. This way, you always have extra ideas when you need them. They could be about anything. Heroes, villains, plots, plot twists, advice for you, topics you want to write about, things you want to be careful with, anything.

4. Watch People And Think About Their Stories

Ok, the first part sounds a little creepy on its own, but altogether it has a great positive impact on your imagination.

This has been one of my favourite pastimes since I was a kid. Especially when I’m on a bus. I watch the people walking, standing, sitting and I’m thinking: “What if I was there and they were here? Where would I go? What would I do? Why would I do it? Why would I be so happy/sad/excited/angry?”

There are probably a million questions you can ask yourself about each of the people you see every day. And it’s an excellent exercise for your imagination. You practically write a story in a couple of minutes.

So, the next time you’ll have a writer’s block, you may think one of the people you’ve seen and grab one of their lives to keep going.

Ok, yes, they’re not their lives, just what you imagine them to be, but you haven’t met them so who knows? Maybe, they are their stories. 😛

The benefit here is that you don’t write anyone’s story – just something out of your imagination. You don’t have to get anyone’s permission for this. 😉

5. Scripta Manent

Ok, now that you have some stories, you don’t have to keep them in your mind. Actually, I’d advise you to write them down.

Write anything you’ve thought about the people you saw. Not only will you have some great stories written down, but you also get to have ready characters for stories that you may think in the future!

Writing everything down is useful for getting better at it and also for remembering them! It’s easy to forget something, so it’s better to scribble down anything you want to. Plus, it’s fun, so who am I to do otherwise?

6. Go Fanfiction

Ok, there’s no way you have read a novel and you haven’t started thinking about how it could develop. Especially if there’s a new book coming, a sequel to the previous one.

A lot of questions are probably still unanswered and you start making assumptions about how it could go. I even talk to my friends about these!

Well, some people write these stories online. Fanfiction.net is one of these places and the one I usually go for reading… well, fanfiction. 😛 It’s precisely what the name implies. Fans who want a story to take a different road, so they write about this.

And I have to say, some of these stories are way better than the books or the TV shows that are based on!

An important benefit is that not only you practise, but you also get a lot of feedback! That’s great for someone who wants to be a great writer!

Plus, you get some fans, so when you do write your book, you can have some people ready to buy your book! 😉 Sounds nice, huh?

7. Join A Seminar

Join a seminar on creative writing. A friend of mine attended one last year and she loved it. She had a great instructor and she met wonderful friends/fellow writers.

Just be careful and do your research before you enroll into something. Check out the instructor and the syllabus. Make sure the one you choose is the best – or at least one of the best ones for your budget.

8. Start A Blog

One of the easiest ways to get something yours out there is to start a blog.

What I love the most about having a blog is that you can write whatever you want on it. And you can make it a small paradise where anyone who loves books can be happy.

Plus, you can use it to promote any work you have. Books, articles, seminars or whatever else you can offer to your readers. Tips, mini-stories, novellas, anything.

A small tip on this: It would be great to have at least one main story that is going to be a long one. Your readers will be coming, again and again, to read the next chapters and they’ll find out about any other work in progress you have. Update this one regularly and make it one of your best stories. Check some tips on writing a good story if you’d like to.

I’d suggest you start training on Wealthy Affiliate. It’s where I started and I love the community there. Even on the Starter (Free) membership, they provide the basic training on how to start and how to gain traffic on your blog and that’s why it’s great for beginners.

9. Practise, Practise And… Practise Again

Well, you know how it goes. The more you practise, the better you get at something. No one is born with all the knowledge, the charisma, the experience to do something right. We all learn along the way. And the more we fail, the more we learn.

So don’t be afraid to fail or to get negative feedback. Maybe it’s a little hurtful, but if you didn’t get it, you’d be the same tomorrow. Now, you’ll be better…

Final Thoughts

These are some great ways to become good at writing. Try them out and you’ll see a lot of improvement! You’ll be getting better at writing in no time!

Let me know what you think about these. How do they work out for you?

And if you know more ways to help someone become a better writer, write them below. There are a lot of people that could benefit from these!

Don’t forget to have fun!

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6 comments

Hi Jenny,
I simply enjoy reading your posts they are so encouraging and I can so relate. I personally never took time out to read in my younger days I thought it would be so boring lol, but now my perspective has changed and I actually enjoy reading. As for watching people and thinking about their stories hahaha as creepy as it does sound I guess we all do it to a certain degree so I don’t think that would be a difficult one for me. I will be sure to follow your advice and practice all of the above, who knows maybe the next book you will read will be authored by me 🙂 Keep up the great work and please keep those tips coming.
Oh, and could you offer any recommendations on a book most helpful for dealing with a patient who suffers from schizophrenia because I am currently taking care of a patient with this disorder and I would like to know how best to deal with any challenges that may arise.

I am an artist, but to be honest with you and myself, I think I am a bad one. And I don’t mean as in I am bad at art, but I get distracted easily and I do not create art work as often as I want or should. Everything you wrote down is the same process an artist goes through and should do. The only difference is how the information is being expressed. A writer writes words and the words tell the story. An artist draws lines and shapes to tell a story or send a message. I feel like the universe is talking to me and telling me to create.